A jubilee with many highlights: over 53,000 guests at the 40th STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS

In the past decades, the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS have developed into an integral part of the international equestrian calendar and into a sporting flagship event in the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The organisers are highly delighted that the jubilee edition has seamlessly continued the success story. “40 horse shows – it’s an impressive success story and one we can be proud of. It’s definitely not a given. I’m fascinated by the atmosphere in the arena and the passion and enthusiasm behind everything. The way the crowd cheered Isabell Werth’s freestyle performance or Britt Roth’s second place in the jumping was absolutely incredible. A big strength of the event is the way so many people work together and ensure that everything goes smoothly. There’s over 1000 people working in the arena. It’s not for nothing that the riders tell us that everything is perfect here. It turns the horse show into a quite special event in Stuttgart,” says Guido von Vacano, CEO of in.Stuttgart. “The fact that we’ve succeeded in bringing together so many enthusiastic equestrian fans and that we’ve celebrated this special jubilee with such a big response is highly pleasing.” Over 53,000 guests visited the international horse show this year in the “Hallenduo” complex. The evening session on Friday and the two sessions on Saturday were sold out.

Horse show of great importance for Stuttgart

On Friday, 13 November 2026, a variety of figures from politics, business and Stuttgart society gathered at a reception held in conjunction with the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS. A special guest was Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Crafts and Tourism. When addressing the attendees at the start, she stressed the importance of the horse show for Stuttgart and the region. “It’s the most successful indoor show in Germany. The visitors appreciate the high-class programme on offer. Elite sport at this level has to have a future,” said the minister. Thomas Fuhrmann, Stuttgart’s Mayor for Economic Affairs, Finance and Cooperations, added: “The economic effects of major events are highly important for a city like ours. We have an exceptionally large number of events and all are important, especially the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS.” 

Jubilee show on Wednesday – legends and big emotions

The opening evening impressively and entertainingly displayed just what has made the horse show stand out for so many years. To mark the jubilee, a show combining all three disciplines – jumping, dressage and driving – for the first time was put together to stage the diversity of the STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS. The guests cheered on the riding clubs in the Brunold Jeep Costume Jump & Drive, enjoyed goosebump moments during Isabell Werth’s dressage freestyle and were ecstatic when four five-in-hand teams were presenting a quadrille with a Western feeling. At the same time many things were familiar – the special feeling of entering the Schleyer-Halle, the unique atmosphere and the enthusiastic crowds in the stands that have made the horse show stand out in the last four decades. A thread running through all five days of the event were the “Legends in the Course – presented by BW-Bank”. Seated in a carriage belonging to the state stud in nearby Marbach were famous celebrities like Michael Freund, Ewald Güss, Pierre Durand, Hugo Simon, Ulla Salzgeber and Ludger Beerbaum that have made their mark on international equestrianism over the past four decades driven. When interviewed, they talked of major successes, special encounters and formative experiences and were the source of emotional moments – not only for themselves but also the other guests like when Hugo Simon talked about his successful and exceptional horse, E.T. “We couldn’t have wished for a worthier jubilee,” said Guido von Vacano when looking back at the past days.

The competitions’ sporting highlights

Competition-wise, there were many familiar faces on the podiums: Cathal Daniels successfully defended his Indoor Derby title on Shannondale Mariseinen whilst Michael Jung, a STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS Horse Show ambassador, narrowly missed out on winning for a tenth time when coming second. Thursday also saw a familiar success story continue as Jana Lang again won the iWest Dressage Cup on her 20-year-old Baron. The evening however came up with a surprise or two in the BW-Bank Indoor Championship. In the jump-off, the guests were on the edge of their seats when Günter Treiber and Spirit van T’Vossenhof took the lead. For a long time, it seemed as if Thomas O’Brien and Saint Vidal S, the last to go, were going to beat the fastest time – but then a pole fell at the very last fence. The winner had been decided, and it was his first time he could call himself a Baden-Württemberg champion. He crowned his success on Sunday in the “Southern Summit Meeting – the iWEST® Top 12 Masters” which celebrated its premiere. It involved the top six riders in the BW-Bank Indoor Championship facing the best six from the Bavarian Championship. Once again Günter Treiber and his horse left his rivals trailing in his wake when winning for the home state and going down in horse show history as the first ever victor in the new class.

In the Prize of the Outletcity Metzingen – the GERMAN MASTER qualifier – Richard Vogel and Gangster Montdesir secured the win but had to be content with third place behind victor Peder Fredricson and SV Vroom de la Pomme Z from Sweden and runner-up Marcus Ehning on Askala NRW in the final. A fantastic atmosphere was produced by the “driving entertainers” – for the first time eight teams took part including the whole Dutch and German world championship teams, the Belgian Glenn Geerts and naturally the Australian individual world champion Boyd Exell, who however had to miss out on adding to his five GERMAN MASTER titles in succession when making a mistake at a gate to hand victory to Bram Chardon. For him, it was an important win as he secured himself his first World Cup points. In dressage, there was an especially high-class and large field. There was a standing ovation and a never to be forgotten moment on Saturday evening when Isabell Werth and Viva Gold OLD danced a demanding freestyle to the golden ribbon. On the final passage, the crowd clapped in takt singing along to “Sweet Caroline” – even Isabell Werth got in the mood. There was however a surprise in the GERMAN MASTER class as Finland’s Henri Ruoste – competing for the first time in Stuttgart with his mare Tiffanys Diamond – secured the win. The last highlight was then provided by the Grand Prix of Stuttgart when France’s Julian Epaillard came out on top together with Le Coultre de Muze.

The 41^st International STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS Horse Show will take place from 10 to 14 November 2027.